Special master of victim fund Ken Feinberg, right, meets with Aurora theater shooting victims at the Aurora Public Library to discuss how $5 million will be disbursed. Aurora, CO. Thursday. October 11, 2012. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

Ken Feinberg, special master of the Aurora Victim Relief Fund, said victims of the movie-theater shooting seem to be resigned to the amounts they will receive and relieved by the timeline.

Based on the payment protocol he announced Monday, the families of the 12 killed and the three who sustained brain damage or paralysis during the July 20 shooting will receive 70 percent of the almost $5 million in donations remaining in the relief fund.

With a current fund balance of $4,961,739, Feinberg said, there will be more than $200,000 for each of these claimants.

Those who were hospitalized for their injuries will receive payments from the remaining $1.5 million or so based on length of hospital stay.

"I don't hear a lot of criticism — for one, there's resignation. And people generally feel: 'Well, he's getting the money out the door,' " said Feinberg, the governor-appointed mediator who met Thursday and Friday with victims and families in two public forums at the Aurora Public Library.

Feinberg told them he wants the money paid out by Thanksgiving.

"They very much like us getting the money out without restrictions on how they can spend it," Feinberg said. No claimant will have to sign away rights to filing legal action.

Nov. 15 is the cutoff date for any additional donations to be made to the fund — and only by check to the governor's office. Monday was the last day for online donations at Community First's website, GivingFirst.org.

Advertisement

Aurora Victim Relief Fund payments for hospitalizations will be based on length of stay, with amounts set for stays of one to seven days, eight to 19 days, or 20 days or more. The amounts will be determined by the fund balance Nov. 15. Payments will be made as quickly as possible thereafter, Feinberg said.

Those who suffered psychological trauma or injuries not requiring hospitalization will not be compensated, he said, but free counseling will be available to them.

One victims group, made up of family members of most of those slain, had been publicly critical of fund administration before Feinberg came on board.

The group released a statement Monday evening saying they are "working tirelessly behind the scenes to raise additional funds. We are in the process of aligning with a trusted, nationally recognized organization to ensure victims of the theater shooting — the physically and emotionally injured in theater 9 and the physically injured in theater 8 — will receive donations past the Nov. 15 deadline imposed by Gov. John Hickenlooper."

Victims and their families must file claims by Nov. 1. They can request a private meeting with Feinberg from Nov. 1 to Nov. 9 to discuss their claims.

Feinberg has told victims he will not referee between any family members of those killed. He'll send such disputes to probate court, he said.

Feinberg agreed to serve as special master for the Aurora Victim Relief Fund without compensation at the request of Hickenlooper, Community First Foundation and the 7/20 Recovery Committee.

Feinberg has served as mediator and "pay czar" for some of America's highest-profile crises, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Virginia Tech shooting and the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story